To put into context what I am about to talk about, a quick introduction of me and my experience:
I am a former Professional Mixed Martial Artist, which I did for 12 years.
I have been a Personal Trainer for 15 years.
I also have a BSc Hons Psychology degree
Although I have been a Personal Trainer for a long time, it's only more recently that I have gone down the holistic route.
So what does that actually mean?
Holistic means all encompassing, which means myself and my clients take an emotional, mental and physical outlook on life, incorporating these three main themes:
Eat healthy
Lift heavy
Get outside
So, how did I make the switch to a holistic lifestyle, from a regimented training program, obsessing over calories, weighing myself daily and being constantly exhausted?
Coming from a martial arts background, I have competed professionally in MMA, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Everything we do in training, and in competition, is based around the outcome.
In competition, if you don't finish your fight with a submission or a knockout, then everything goes to the score cards. A win or loss can come down to seconds: one second more control. One second more endurance to keep going. One second left of the round.
The smallest increments of time, skill and control make the difference between getting signed to a big promotion such as the UFC, Bellator or PFL for a potentially life changing amount of money, or your next fight being in the local leisure centre.
The question for me, the thing I always came back to, was, "If I COULDN'T win, would I still want to play?"
Or, to put it another way, do I like to play the game, or do I just like winning?
It took me a while to work it out, but yes, I absolutely would still play the game even if I knew I couldn't win.
The same can be said when we talk about our individual goals, whether it be within health and fitness, business or anything else. For example, let's say you're trying to lose weight. Most people will start that process by under-eating and over-exercising in order to get quick results. The outcome of this usually involves them getting sick, and reverting back to where they started, or sometimes in a worse position than where they started!
I could pick anyone who is stuck in that cycle, and ask them whether they would exercise if they knew it wouldn't help them lose weight and I would put money on them saying 'absolutely not'.
Just to be clear, they would feel all the other benefits that exercise brings, for example: stronger muscles and joints, increased cardiovascular output, uplifted mood, and improved flexibility to name but a few.
But the reason they would say no to exercising when it definitely wouldn't lead them to weight loss is because they are focused on the outcome rather than the process. However, the process is the part we have to fall in love with in order to maintain the outcome.
Now, thinking about all the other benefits that exercise brings, would it be more or less likely you would stick with it?
We can also relate that back to business, your job, or a regular chore list. How much do you actually enjoy it?
(Of course there are going to be things you enjoy more or less than others, that's just being human.)
Using your job as an example, write down three things you love about it, and then three things you would rather not have to deal with.
Let's look at those three things you'd rather not deal with first, and think about all the good it does. I'll give you a personal example: I dread doing my accounts. I put it off and put it off. But when I do set aside a chunk of time and get it done, it's never as bad as I thought it would be, and I actually get a huge sense of pride reading with my own eyes how much people have paid me to help them. They have taken their hard earned cash, and spent it on the service I provide. Does it get better than that?! Absolutely not!
I wouldn't get to experience that appreciation over and over every year if I didn't have to do my dreaded accounts. Could I outsource it? Yes, of course. But what I gain from it is worth it, at least for now.
If you get absolutely zero pleasure from one of your duties, then it is worth thinking about outsourcing it, but that's a story for another day, while we focus on the enjoyment we can get from unexpected sources.
So for now, let's pick something within your list of three jobs you would rather not do to focus on, and make a few notes next to them about what you gain from them.
Note: This isn't about doing the worst job of the day first. Known as 'eating your frog' (Brian Tracey) - this is a great method to get the most difficult job of the day done in order to make every subsequent job seem easier and somehow easier to accomplish than eating a frog. This is more about turning your frog into chocolate. To use the accounts example again - eating my frog would perhaps mean doing my accounts first thing in the morning so that everything else I did would feel easier. However, making my frog chocolate would mean that I could do it at any time, but before completing the task, I am noting down the benefits that particular job is bringing to me.
Now let's talk about the three things that you love about your job. This is more to serve as a reminder of why you do what you do, but it's important to focus on these three things, write them down, and put the list somewhere you can read on a daily basis. You can also make sure to read through the list every time you feel as though you're having a rough day in order to perk yourself up.
Although we can't start outsourcing cardio, we can definitely write down all the things we gain from it. Along with this, specifically aimed at exercise now, it may be that the type of exercise you have been doing but not enjoying just isn't for you. I know plenty of people that would rather cut off their little finger over going for a 10km run, but will happily choose to spend 3 hours in the gym lifting weights.
Falling in love with the process can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. Whether it be health and fitness or business, something as simple as writing down all the things you gain from something you don't really enjoy can go a long way to help you to push through.
Sometimes sitting back and realising how far you've come since you started your career, or your fitness regime goes a long way in terms of self recognition.
If you feel like you need to take a handle back on your health and fitness, then please send me a message and we can have a chat about where you're at, where you feel you want to be and how we can get there by falling in love with the process.
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